TV Ratings: 'How I Met Your Mother' Delivers Highs, American Country Awards Grow

Eric McCandless/Fox

It was a good night to be a CBS comedy. The network's two-hour sitcom block pushed it to a clear win in the adults 18-49 demo on Monday night, earning a 4.0 rating. CBS also topped in viewers, averaging 12.3 million for the night.

How I Met Your Mother hit a nearly three-year high for a regularly scheduled episode, earning a 4.5 rating in adults 18-49 and 11.7 million viewers. It's the highest rated regular broadcast since Jan. 12, 2009, with the special 8:30 airing of its recent season premiere giving the only stronger score this season, a 5.1.

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2 Broke Girls saw its largest audience since its premiere and a gain of two tenths in the demo since its last new episode, giving it a 4.6 rating. Two and a Half Men was down a notch from its Nov. 21 showing, bringing in a 5.0 among adults 18-49, with Mike & Molly tying its latest score of 4.2. A new episode of Hawaii Five-0 was also up two tenths for a 3.0.

The second outing for Fox's American Country Awards fared much stronger than its first run in 2010. The broadcast averaged a 2.0 rating among adults 18-49 and brought in 7.4 million viewers, for respective gains of 33 and 23 percent. ABC's recent broadcast of the CMA Awards, also up from 2010, averaged a 4.8 rating and 16.4 million viewers.

ABC placed third for the night with a 1.8 rating among adults 18-49 and 6.5 million viewers. A Charlie Brown Christmas (2.8 rating) and Prep & Landing 2 (2.2) led into an even softer outing for You Deserve It. The languishing game show continued to fall, earning a 1.0 rating for the hour. Castle seemed to suffer for its weak lead-in, bringing in a 2.0 rating and an audience of 8 million.

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A two-hour holiday special of The Sing Off and Rock Center With Brian Williams gave NBC a 1.0 rating for the night and an audience just short of 3.9 million.

On the CW, Gossip Girl maintained its scores from the previous week, bringing in a 0.6 among adults 18-49 and matching its total viewership of 1.3 million. Hart of Dixie built on its lead-in to tie its second best score in the demo this season. It earned a 0.9 rating and built the night's audience by 39 percent.

Monday, Dec. 5, Overnight Ratings:

8 p.m.
CBS: How I Met Your Mother (11.7 million viewers, 4.5 rating in adults 18-49)
ABC: A Charlie Brown Christmas (9.0 million, 2.8)
Fox: American Country Awards (7.3 million, 2.0)
NBC: The Sing-Off Holiday Special (4.4 million, 1.1)
The CW: Gossip Girl (1.3 million, 0.6)

8:30 p.m.
CBS: 2 Broke Girls (12.8 million, 4.6)
ABC: Prep & Landing 2: Naughty Vs. Nice (6.98 million, 2.2)

9 p.m.
CBS: Two and a Half Men (15 million, 5.0)
Fox: American Country Awards (7.5 million, 2.0)
NBC: The Sing-Off Holiday Special (3.8 million, 1.1)
ABC: You Deserve It (3.6 million, 1.0)
The CW: Hart of Dixie (1.8 million, 0.8)

9:30 p.m.
CBS: Mike & Molly (12.7 million, 4.2)

10 p.m.
CBS: Hawaii Five-0 (10.8 million, 3.0)
ABC: Castle (8.0 million, 2.0)
NBC: Rock Center With Brian Williams (3.4 million, 0.9)